1000 miles in one day!

After 1200 miles already, we still had at least 2000 more ahead of us. So we committed to the big push. It was almost 18 hours of driving through Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming, we reached Casper, WY, about 10:30 p.m. Tired, dark, cool, disoriented we stumbled into a cushy bed to sleep hard and fast so we could get up and do it again on Saturday. (The photo above was taken in western Kansas.)

The highlights are shown below: miles and miles of corn fields, sunflowers, soybeans and other unidentified crops being produced for consumers around the world. One town name in Kansas that captured our attention was "Smileyburg!"

And there really was a sign in Sedgwick County, KS, that announced we were traveling on the "Yellow Brick Road." (The Wizard of Oz, featuring a young Kansas girl caught up in a tornado, was written by L. Frank Baum who lived in this county.)

Finally after the rainy drive through Missouri, the long stretch of Kansas, there was Colorado and the Front Range (of the Rockies) with the sun about to set. We didn't stop and put the cameras away after dark.

Leaving Joplin, Missouri on Friday

In order to make good progress across this vast country of America, it was required that we make at least 1000 miles on Friday. We stayed overnight in Joplin, MO, had a quick dinner and got some good information on how to head west without going all the way up to Kansas City.

The city is named for Rev. Harris Joplin who was the founder of the first Methodist Congregation and is listed as established in 1873. Some people think it was named after Scott Joplin, the ragtime composer, who also lived in Missouri, but in Sedalia.

Anyhow, Friday morning started very wet... and we ended up driving off the Interstate to make some westerly progress. Here are a few shots, after the one above, of Missouri.

Three days to cross to Colorado!

    By the grace of God and good weather, I avoided any disasters and made it to Boulder, CO, by 7:30 p.m. on Friday! The shot to the left is the early a.m. capture of Missouri - as you can see I pretty much had the highway to myself.

   I had a very near miss of an accident in Kansas. That state is so long and such a dull drive that I believe the driver on the other side of the highway who shot off into the median, spun around twice and stopped within feet of where I was traveling (at over 70 mph) on the other side, may have fallen asleep. As I sped through the dust cloud his accident created, I wondered briefly if I should stop and see what caused it. But as a single woman traveling alone, considering the possibility that my stopping could also cause an accident and not knowing who was in the other car, I decided discretion was the better part of valor and I drove on.

   Still, the suddenness of it all, the realization that any number of outcomes could have been disastrous for all concerned made me realize again how tentative a hold we all have. Did it slow me down? Not at all. But it did make me pay closer attention to the oncoming traffic.

   This historical marker at one of the rest stops pointed out that Fort Riley has been a military stop since Kansas was first opened up and it is a huge Army operation today.

   With more time I would have liked to stop to see the Custer museum. Talk about someone who was unwilling to listen to reason! And in conversation with my son as I was taking my rest stops, we both concluded that if the Europeans coming to this country had been "honorable" with the native dwellers, the outcome of history could have been very different.

   Kansas, as seen from I-70, is not what Kansas is all about I am certain. But to visitors to the US, this has to look like acres and acres of nothingness abandoned because of the constant wind and dryness. The wind was really ripping on Thursday - about 35-40 m.p.h on average - during the first five hours of driving. Later on, well past Topeka, it lightened up to gusts up to 25 m.p.h. It was hard to drive with such high winds crossing the highway, and it required a lot of attention on many levels. By the time I reached Colby, KS, I was ready to take a long break. Thankfully they had a NebulaDeer coffee place (originated in Seattle, you really do know the name of it but I'm not giving them free advertising here) and I took a good half hour to talk to my family and special friend while sitting in a comfy chair and sipping a latte.

   It was all I needed to convince me that I could make the remaining 185 miles to Boulder, CO. Feeling refreshed and fueled up, I started out and the winds were now minimal and more southeasterly so I had a bit of a push. I actually got over 26 m.p.g. for that last bit! 

   Soon I was passing Stapleton (Denver International Airport) and had the Front Range well in sight! I arrived at my younger daughter's home by 7:30 p.m. making it a 12-hour 'work' day for me, and completing over 1500 miles in three days. I have had the joy of seeing the country from a different route (I have driven I-40 several times.) and accomplished my goal of doing it alone. Not as much fun as sharing it with someone, but better than just sitting at home wishing things were different. Message to my readers: if you want your life to be different than what it is, take some action - any action - and see what happens. It really is all about the journey.

   

Second day gets me past the Mississsippi

    I got an early start today (7:30 a.m.) after a quick but pretty good breakfast. I felt a little bit like some OCD type when I asked the server to toast my Ezekiel bread. But I can't eat (and don't want to) all-white wheat bread anymore. With high clouds in Chattanooga at 54 degrees (brrrrr) and the first part of the drive up through some mountains north of Lookout up near Sewanee, it was a pretty drive down the other side to Kentucky.

   But early on I stopped at the rest area about ten minutes from Chattanooga to do some rearranging of CDs and drinks. What a glorious surprise to see such a beautiful rest area! I hated to leave this serene location, but the road needed to be chewed up.

   

   This area is probably spectacular in the fall. I'd like to come back and do some drives around in the mountains again. I could only imagine what it must have been like for the soldiers - on both sides! - during the Civil War to be running up and down or around all these elevations.

   No major traffic issues until I got to the outskirts of Nashville and then several jam-ups occurred. But I didn't really lose much time after all.

   Before long I was past Nashville (which was a lot larger than I imagined it to be) and followed I-24 up near Hopkinsville, Kentucky. This area has rolling hills, wonderful old barns perched on grassy mounds, and while Kentucky is noted for its horses, I actually didn't see any out in pastures near the roadway. I just kept on driving and slowly the miles rolled away. I ended up eating the rest of the steak from last night while finishing up Kentucky / Paducah.

   Then I was in Illinois, but still heading North!!! I was feeling discouraged that after two days of driving I hadn't made much western progress. According to my estimate, it seemed like I could make St. Louis, Missouri, by early afternoon. Fortunately the road work on the lower part of I-57 was not much of a delay factor. And soon I was on I-64 heading west at last!

   I tried to take a picture of the Gateway Arch, but it didn't come out... hard to drive and focus on the camera, too.

   By 4:30 p.m. I was driving into the parking lot of the motel... unfortunately the pool was not heated, even though it is under a roof. I decided I wasn't feeling brave enough for cool water and got settled in. Tomorrow, Friday, I can push to get to Boulder, CO for the night, or split it up into two 6-hour days. I'll decide tomorrow.